Mission - 7460 Hurd Street

Agreements are part of our operations and we work closely with the operator to develop them. As Hurd Street is still in its early phase, the discussions about resident services, resident agreements and programming have not yet been confirmed. The program agreements and good neighbour agreements that will be developed will address much of the same themes and be more aligned to meet the needs of supportive housing tenants. 

In general, we do not see supportive housing programs signing onto an official “Crime Free Housing Program” for various reasons. Supportive housing (in most cases) uses a program agreement and not a residential tenancy agreement. Supportive housing is a housing first model with a focus on supporting tenants to maintain tenancies, and not create criteria for eviction. The staff training pieces offered by the Crime Free Housing program are useful in many circumstances, but these are often skills an experienced supportive housing operator may already have.  

Thank you for participating in our session and for your questions. 

We are currently looking at multiple options for residents who are next to the new development. 

Our Site plan drawing is preliminary in design and more drawings and renderings will be posted on BC Housing's Let’s Talk website as they are available.  

For updates about this project, please check: https://letstalkhousingbc.ca/mission-hurd-street    

Residents will be given a direct contact for the building and staff with be there 24/7. We will provide residents a Who to Call form, which gives the numbers of who to call and under what circumstances. These two items will mean comments, questions and concerns will be heard immediately.  

To address the “tent city” concerns, supportive housing is self-contained studio apartments where supports for residents is available in the building. Residents will have their own units as this is not a shelter. 

Thank you for participating in our session and your question. Modular housing is faster to construct thereby shortening the construction time and reducing disruption and noise to neighbours. Modular housing provides safe, individual units for shelter guests. This provides independence and can help residents progress to that next stage of housing. Examples of recent modular supportive housing can be seen with The Nest and at Guildford, both in Surrey.

People who apply to live at the housing need to meet eligibility requirements around income, homelessness and required supports and programming. Residents are low-income individuals over the age of 19 who live in the community, have a history of homelessness and who need additional support services to maintain housing. Priority goes to people who are further along and either already on a path to recovery from drug or alcohol use or are ready to make a change in their lives and want help to do so. Youth will also be prioritized, and specific supports provided to help them thrive.  All residents will be provided support to assist with their successful tenancy, including daily meal services.  

Priority will also be given to residents of Mission, including shelter, rough sleeping, various agency referrals as well as those who applied to BC Housing directly. We anticipate that the majority of residents living at Hurd Street will have been living successfully in BC Housing leased hotel rooms. 

The offers of tenancy are made following meetings held by BC Housing’s coordinated access team where agencies representing MCSS, BC Housing, Fraser Health have assessed the applicants for suitability. Suitability considers vulnerability in the community, neighbourhood considerations, accessibility to services, the housing operators experience and mandates - all in the interest of creating a balanced mix tenancy that will support successful operation and tenancies. 

BC Housing obtains funding to acquire and operate housing opportunities. We don’t have funding for private property improvements.

Mission Community Services Society (MCSS) will be responsible for property and operations management. MCSS is an experienced non-profit charitable organization with over 40 years of experience and provides housing and support to families, adults, youth and seniors in the community. Learn more about the organization at https://missioncommunityservices.com  

A minimum of two trained staff will be on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week to manage the building and provide support to residents. During daytime hours several staff will be on hand, including an on-site supervisor, janitor, and supports from other partners providing specialized services. 

MCSS will ensure that all staff have the appropriate training and skills necessary to support the clients. The training, as required by BC Housing, includes, but is not limited to crisis prevention training; First Aid/CPR; mental health first aid training; domestic violence and safety planning; substance use awareness and safety training; and trauma-informed training.

Contact information will be made available when the site is developed.

The City recognizes this is a loss of parkland and are asking the community what improvements can be made to Kinsmen West park at 7th Ave and Hurd Street to help offset the loss of Dr. H.G. Humes park. 

Ideas and suggestions for can be emailed to info@mission.ca

BC Housing is partnering with the City of Mission and Mission Community Services Society to provide approximately 50 supportive modular homes for adults at risk or experiencing homelessness. Supportive housing is an opportunity for people to leave the streets and shelter system for safe and stable housing that will contribute to an improved quality of life. Supportive housing is a self-contained studio home with various support services provided on-site, to ensure people can achieve and maintain housing stability. Supports could include outreach workers, life skills training, employment assistance, connection and referral to community services and support groups. All residents would sign a program agreement (similar to a tenancy agreement) and would pay rent.   

Supportive housing is for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness with varying health and personal challenges and needs. People experiencing homelessness are not a homogenous group and have had different pathways into homelessness. That’s why supportive housing tailors its response to clients, to help them maintain their housing and work on healing.  

Residents sign a Program Agreement and are expected to abide by it. The Program Agreement addresses expectations about appropriate and respectful behavior especially as it relates to the health and safety of themselves and others. Staff works with residents and the neighbours to foster good neighbourhood relations.  Residents are expected to:   

• Treat neighbours and community with consideration;
• Not make excessive noise or cause unnecessary disturbances;
• Ensure security doors are closed properly and not let any unknown persons into building;  
• Put garbage in the appropriate bins;
• Not smoke in the common areas, including the front entrance.

MCSS may end an agreement at any time if a resident is:  

• Engaging or behaving in a manner which is abusive and/or a threat to the mental or physical health or safety of anyone in the building/community;
• Significantly disrupting the quiet enjoyment of other participants and/or neighbours; and  
• Engaging in willful vandalism or damage to the building or property.

BC Housing and MCSS are committed to be good neighbours and to provide a safe community both inside and outside of the new housing. Supportive housing is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by an experienced non-profit operator. MCSS works closely with the RCMP, Bylaws, Fraser Health, BC Housing and other community agencies to ensure the community is safe for all to enjoy.  As per regular practice, they will create a Community Advisory Committee that includes neighbours, to discuss emergent and ongoing issues towards building a safer and healthier community.   

A BC Housing 2019 study (Modular Supportive Housing Resident Outcomes Study: Results for First Seven Modular Supportive Housing Developments) reported that 82% of survey respondents across seven modular supportive housing sites reported experiencing positive interactions with neighbours in the surrounding community since they moved in.

We hope that this information is useful.  

Supportive housing locations are determined based on proximity to services, amenities and availability of property. Housing for people experiencing and at risk of homelessness needs to meet people where they are at, providing connection to the resources that people need to work towards living a healthy, stable life. Access to community services and transit is key for people without homes, but so is feeling part of a neighbourhood. With a remote site, there is no access to services, no regular transit access, and no integration with the community, which is essential for people who are working towards a healthy, stable life.   

BC Housing worked with the City of Mission over the last several years to identify a site for this much needed housing in Mission. The City and BC Housing acknowledge the need for supportive housing in Mission, and after monitoring and conducting usage studies on the park, decided to use this City owned, appropriately zoned property for the supportive housing. After evaluating several properties in Mission over the last four years, this property was chosen because it best suits the location for such a facility.

BC Housing and the housing operator, Mission Community Services Society (MSCC) are committed to being good neighbours and to provide a safe community both inside and outside of the new housing. Supportive housing is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by an experienced non-profit operator. All residents sign a program agreement in respect to expectations around behaviours.   

MCSS (https://missioncommunityservices.com) works closely with the RCMP, Bylaws, Fraser Health, BC Housing and other community agencies to ensure the community is safe for all to enjoy. As per regular practice, they will create a Community Advisory Committee that includes neighbours, to discuss emergent and ongoing issues towards building a safer and healthier community.  

Other security measures include: safety and security monitoring within the building; optimized lighting around the building, security cameras, fob-access only to the building, and a staffed reception area.